SAPPER WILLIAM GEORGE WOODGATE
4520 – 3rd Tunnelling Company
Born William Joseph George Woodgate at Sandhurst, Victoria in 1888, the son of William and Sarah Ann, nee Cole. William married Ellen Wynne at East Coolgardie in 1911. A son, William G., was born at East Coolgardie in 1911. A second son, John R., was born at Boulder in 1913 and a daughter Beryl A., was also born at Boulder in 1916.
William underwent a medical examination at Boulder, Western Australia on 7 February 1916 and was found to be fit for active service.
He travelled to Perth and signed the Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad as William George Woodgate at Blackboy Hill on 9 March 1916, signing the Oath to ‘well and truly serve’ the King on 10 March, and was appointed a Private in 54 Depot Battalion.
A miner by trade, it only took until 16 March for William to be transferred to the Mining Corps. Capt. Lawson appointed him to No. 6 Tunnelling Company on 1 May 1916 at Belmont.
His rank was changed to ‘Sapper’, the base rank for members of the Corps of Engineers. Aged 27 years 7 months, William was 5ft 8½in tall, weighed 154lbs, had a dark complexion, brown eyes and black hair.
He nominated as his Next-of-Kin his wife Mrs. Ellen Woodgate of Post Office Fimiston, Western Australia and allotted three fifths of his pay for the support of his wife and children.
After training at Blackboy Hill, William and another 370 members of the 6th Tunnelling Company embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia on 1 June 1916 on board HMAT A69 Warilda.
The 7713 ton transport departed Sydney, NSW on May 22, 1916 and collected in Melbourne, Victoria the No 5 Company recruited from Victoria, South Australia & Tasmania consisting of a Headquarters and 2 Sections (8 officers & 173 men) (3 M.D.). 1 Section from Tasmania (3 officers & 76 O.Rs); also 1st Reinforcements for No 5 Company (17 men from Vic. & 8 men Tas.) The ship departed on May 25, 1916 for Adelaide, S.A. to collect one Section of 3 officers & 76 O.Rs with 1st Reinforcements of 8 O.Rs.
Docking at Fremantle, W.A. on June 1, 1916 No 6 Company recruited from W.A. of 14 officers and 325 O.Rs along with 1st Reinforcements of 1 Officer & 32 O.Rs embarked and Warilda departed the same day for the European theatre.
Durban, South Africa was reached on June 16, 1916 and Cape Town on June 21, 1916 while St Vincent completed the African ports of call on July 7, 1916. Discipline was fairly good except at intermediate ports where soldiers going Absent Without Leave caused concern.
The fifty-eight day voyage experienced remarkable pleasant weather and terminated at Plymouth, England on July 18, 1916. Four, Five and Six Companies comprising of 1064 officers and other ranks were detrained to Amesbury and Tidworth to begin training for the front.
William proceeded overseas to France on 28 August 1916 and marched in to the 2nd A.D.B.D. and then marched out to the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company on 29 August. He was taken on strength of that unit on 30 September 1916.
He was hospitalised in the field on 3 October 1916 and admitted to the 26th General Hospital at Etaples with influenza. Discharged to the Australian General Base Depot, also at Etaples, on 23 November, William rejoined his unit 30 December.
He was the brother in law of 1059 Sapper William Cowrie Kemp, also a member of the 3rd Aust. Tunnelling Company who was killed in action 13 November 1917.
On 13 November 1917 he was working with his brother-in-law William Woodgate in a dug out, when William Kemp was shot in the head by asniper, he died instantly.
Only a few inches separated the men and Woodgate believed thathe would have diedinstead of his brother-in-law, as he had been standing in the same spot as Kemp a few seconds earlier.
William Woodgate carried his body back to the base at Nouex-Les-Mines and later helped bury him at Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension: Plot II. F. 2.
Extract from Red Cross Files:
William Woodgate was admitted to the 73rd Field Ambulance with bronchitis on 17 May 1918, and transferred to the 7th Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, on 18 May, where he was diagnosed with emphysema on 29 May and transferred to the AGBD at Rouelles on 3 June 1918.
William was transferred to Weymouth, England on 10 June 1918, possibly for convalescence, and then transferred to Longbridge Deverill, Southampton before again proceeding overseas to France on 10 August 1918.
He marched in to the AGBD on 11 August and rejoined his unit on 16 August, serving with them through the last days of the war.
On 1 November 1918, while William was still in France, his wife and his sister Annie contributed a floral tribute to the Kalgoorlie funeral of Sapper Frederick Thomas Buck, also a member of 3ATC, who had died of tuberculosis after returning from the war.
William marched out to England on 21 February 1919 and marched in to R.B.A.A. Heytesbury on 22 February. He was then marched in to the 2nd Training Brigade, Codford on 19 March 1919 for repatriation to Australia. Briefly hospitalised at 4th G.C. Hospital, he was marched in to 3 Group A.I.F. Codford, on 11 April 1919 and embarked on Sardinia for Australia on 19 April 1919.
William had been a member of 3ATC from September 1916 until his return to Australia. 3ATC first saw action at Boars Head in the lead up the Fromelles diversion ‘stunt’ of July 1916. The Company was allocated to the First Army and were engaged variously at Laventie-Fauquissart, Givenchy, Loos, Lens, Double Crassiers and Vermelles and other places on the Western Front.
On 27 November 1916 at the ‘Black Watch Sap’, Hill 70, an enemy camouflet (or a premature explosion, depending on different accounts) killed 20 members of the company. The next day 2 more members were killed in the same area by an enemy camouflet. The 22 members of 3ATC were buried in 14 adjacent graves at the Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension.
The Companies major effort was at Hill 70 where they constructed the extensive Hythe Tunnel system. The company was also heavily involved in road and bridge construction and the locating and clearing of enemy mines and booby traps. This continued for the company for some months after the Armistice.
Disembarking at Fremantle on 28 May 1919, William George Woodgate was discharged on 12 July 1919, entitled to wear the British War Medal (11291) and the Victory Medal (11160).
His documents were forwarded to Department of Repatriation, Perth on 4 August 1931.
William Woodgate died at Beaconsfield, Perth on 8 February 1950, aged 61 years.
William is memorialised at the Karrakatta Cemetery, Crematorium Rose Gardens, Site 10D, position 0009.
Ellen Woodgate died at Beaconsfield on 28 April 1972 aged 79 years. She is buried at Fremantle Cemetery, Roman Catholic Lawn Area, Lawn B., grave 0058.
© Donna Baldey 2009 / 2015
www.tunnellers.net
with information provided by Chris Donnelly – great grandson of William Woodgate.